I always look forward to the weekends.
As a mother who works from INSIDE her home rather than OUTSIDE, it would seem that Mondays through Fridays would run together with Saturdays and Sundays. And, believe me, sometimes it does.
But Saturday mornings I always run a longer run and then I come home and make blueberry pancakes for my family. Chad is home and he helps with the girls, sitting in front of cartoons in the morning. Sometimes we have errands, sometimes we have a date later in the evening, but usually Saturdays are spent playing and resting.
When I come up on a weekend like this one coming up and a month like how this March is scheduled, I get a bit discouraged. We are busy, and I don’t seem to have set aside anytime to let our minds rest and play. We have good things and necessary things on our schedule, time spent with people we love, but I always long for time at home.
Seems strange because I stay home during the week.
My mind needs to rest. I need to put away the Kindergarten backpack and my gym bag. I need to have time to actually do my hair rather than pull it up into a ponytail. I need to roll around and tickle my girls rather than feel the guilt of a table not wiped or dishes not washed. I need to have time to bake a batch of cookies with Hope, slowly and with the messes that come with a six year old helping. I need to play. Not for long, just a little.
Its difficult not to have the time to reset and renew and put one week away to welcome a new one. When this happens, I feel like I begin a Monday on a half-tank of gas, hoping that it will last until the following Friday. I need time for the lessons and trials of the week to marinate in me and to make new choices for the upcoming week.
I am hoping to find a piece of rest, a portion of quietness before our week begins again. I know its there, I just have to find it.
I just had the same conversation with a friend yesterday. Great minds think alike!
i know exactly what you mean!
sometimes it seems like we have to intentionally set aside time for resting. matt always asks me: do we have anything we have to do this weekend? and he’s always happiest when I answer: just be together!
I could have written that post Sarah, although not so eloquently written. It is amazing how even though we stay at home, weekends are a time I want to just be home and relax. Usually the house is cleaned so the responsibilities of that are off my mind, I don’t have school to teach, lessons to get kids to, or errands to run, so we can just be at home, spend time outside, reconnect with friends and neighbors. I too get discouraged when our weekends are so jammed packed that there doesn’t seem to be a break. I so need that time to refresh and renew.
I hope you find some time to relax and refresh for the week ahead!
Yeah, I was that friend Janelle had the conversation with.
This winter has been so quiet activity wise, I’ve enjoyed it immensely. But in a couple of weeks the craziness hits.
Ugh. I guess it makes us appreciate the quiet all the more.
I couldn’t have said this better!
I’m so glad that you wrote this because I feel that many people have the perception that all stay at home moms do is sit in front of the television with their children, with an ocassional trip to the park.
I’m not a mom, but I’ve got glimpses of what it takes to raise a child (children) full time. It is certainly something that takes a lot out of an individual; definitely something that would require one to get refreshed. Hope you get the chance to recharge your batteries soon
Yeah, I’m an extravert, so in general I derive energy from being with others, but even I agree….I just love a day at home with my sweetie to relax and reconnect.
seems that this blog…this writing each day is a small but important “weekend” for your heart…love, dad
I know just what you mean. We need closure, and we don’t get much of it when we’re stay-at-home moms. Our goals are mostly of the long-term variety, and the daily tasks always have to be done again, again, and again. Weekends represent something needful, and when they are busy, I suffer from it to a degree, even if it’s “fun” busy.
Hope you find that time, Sarah. And enjoy the activiies, too.
Ugh…I am about to enjoy my last leisurely weekend of the entire 2008 year.
It is hard to look forward to enjoying the last one with the crazy weekends on the horizon.
Once they get started though, I will thrive on the excitement and activity, it is just getting over the initial hump.
Aint that the truth!
I hate starting my Mondays on a half a tank of gas. Great sentiments!